


Our time is in my blood.

by JoNogueira



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Dragon Age: Origins
Genre: F/M, Future Angst, future smut, future violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-25 08:36:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17721812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoNogueira/pseuds/JoNogueira
Summary: Alma and Cullen met when they were still children, and from that friendship, something more grew. Although she is a mage and he a templar they couldn't help but develop feelings for each other.The Circle may not be the biggest of places, but there are corners covered in shadows which only the ones who know about them can see... and in some of these places their hearts insist on meeting.Everything is fine until Cullen's biggest nightmare comes true and his actions - although clouded by things he had just suffered - split them apart...Years after years their paths continue crossing, but will destiny be enough to erase the words which broke their hearts? Or has time given them space to realize what is it they truly feel?





	Our time is in my blood.

“Cullen,” – Mia opened the bedroom door. – “you need to wake up…” – She stopped herself when she saw he was already up. – “Good! You don’t want to be late on your very first day!”

“I’m not a templar yet, Mia” – He finished organizing his clothes.

“Well, you don’t want to keep the templars waiting, do you?”

“They’re here already?” – Cullen shoved one more t-shirt into the bag and threw it over his shoulder.

“No,” – She chuckled when he rolled his eyes letting the bag fall on his bed. – “but you don’t want to miss the last breakfast with us, do you?”

“Don’t be dramatic. Today won’t be the last day we’ll see each other. I’ll visit, don’t worry.”

He kept looking at his sister, and the silence between them dragged longer than he'd had liked; his sister always had a wit comment, but something was off, and the silence was broken by the low caw of a crow somewhere in the distance. Cullen saw his sister shiver, but none of them uttered a word.

“Come eat.” – Were Mia’s last words before turning and leaving the room.

The Rutherfords laughed, yelled and chatted until a knock on the door indicated their time was over and Cullen’s dream of becoming a templar was one step from being true.

* * *

Alma looked up at the window and shielded her deep dark eyes from the shy sun which hid behind the rising smoke.

“Take Alma and run.” – She heard her father yelling at her mother. – “Love,” – He shook her shoulders trying to get her out of her stupor. – “you need to go before they get here. I’ll try to buy you as much time as I can. Go!” – He gave her a quick kiss and closed the door, leaving them in the cold room.

“Mama?” – She called covering her ears with her small hands.

For the first time, the woman seemed to register her surroundings. With a quick motion, she grabbed Alma and together they left the place through the back door.

Her mother held her head, and she could feel her fingers in her hair, her hand holding tightly on her back, making sure her daughter was as close as possible. The forest wasn’t far, but Alma could hear the screaming, crying and the cold laughter. She circled her mother’s neck and sobbed.

“Don’t look, child.” – Her mother whispered to her. – “We’re almost there.”

There was a sudden motion, and she felt herself falling. Rolling on the rough ground, she landed not farther than a meter away from her mother.

Her knee hurt and the cut on her cheek started bleeding. The blood running down her face was bothering her, so she cleaned it with the back of her hand just to smear it all over her face.

Still disoriented she heard the sounds of fighting nearby and looked in time to see her mother thrusting a dagger in the man’s chest.

His hands held the last thing keeping him alive, and when he couldn’t resist anymore, his head turned to Alma, and she saw the life vanishing from his eyes; his hands dropping onto his body.

Alma’s eyes stared at him; she didn’t blink, didn’t think, didn’t breath… she didn’t feel when her mother grabbed her and continued running to the forest. Her eyes kept looking at him even when the bushes and trees had long ago hidden his body in the distance.

“Listen to me, baby girl…” – Her mother tried to swallow the tears, to hide them. – “I need you to stay here… I need you to hide and don’t come out until we come for you, okay?”

Alma blinked several times trying to push the image of death away.

“Alma?!” – Her mother yelled.

“Yes.” – She answered in a whisper.

“Hide baby, hide” – Her mother pushed her to the trees.

She glanced over her shoulder and heard her mother tell her not to look back. Three more steps and she stopped.

“Whatever happens, Alma… we love you so much!”

“Mama?” – She heard the rustling leaves and turned around. Her mother was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

The journey was long. After hours of traveling, Cullen noticed the first stars in the sky and its light color gave way to the dark blue of the night.

He threw his bag behind his head and closed his eyes, his mind reached his family, and he wondered if he had made the right decision; even though the longing was almost overwhelming, he shook his head and remembered Mia saying how proud she was. A small smile formed on his lips and he repeated the promise he had made her in a low murmur.

“I’ll be the best templar, and I’ll never forget any of you.”

Her eyes stared back at him, and he smiled a full smile when he remembered her reply.

“I don’t need you to be the best templar… I need you to be the best man you can.” – He felt her arms circle his body again.

The warm memory was interrupted when the templars motioned for Cullen and the other recruits to stop their horses.

“Maker’s breath…” – Cullen muttered to himself when the sight of a burned down village came into view.

* * *

The dark of the night surrounded her. The chilly wind clashed against the naked skin where her old torn clothes didn’t cover, and a shiver ran down her spine making the hair of her arms and legs stand on their ends.

Alma sat on the rocky ground and circled her legs with her dirty arms, resting her head on her knees. The scary night sounds reached her ears, and when she closed her eyes, a prayer started on her mouth; a prayer for the Maker, a prayer through clenched teeth and shaky chin.

Her stomach grumbled, and the sour taste on her tongue made her remember the small bread she had eaten that morning. A light headache prompted Alma to rub her eyes and a loud howl reminded her of her mother’s warnings not to be out in the dark, or the wolves would make her their dinner. Scared, hungry and cold she stood up and started to make her way home. The moon tried to light the way, but the treetops decided they weren’t going to make it easy for her.

She was able to reach the village with cuts and bruises. The blood on her legs had dried long ago, only the itching remained.

In the distance, she heard voices calling, and the remaining fire in some of the houses barely illuminated the cloud covered place. In the silent dark, she looked for her parents. She wished to arrive home and smell her mother’s food by the door like she had done many times before.

Opening the door, the pitch black inside blinded her. She touched the walls trying to find her way to the kitchen and the putrid smell obligated her to cover her nose on her elbow.

“Mama?” – She called, but the word was cut with a cough. – “Dada?” She tried again.

Walking towards the bedroom, she slipped on something wet and fell face first on something soft. She fumbled around trying to identify the object, but the only light in the place came from the obscured moon which hid behind a partly closed window.

Alma walked towards the window and struggled to keep it open. She walked back without taking her eyes off of the object, and when she turned to see what she had tripped over, a cry, which could be mistaken by an animal screech, found its way to her throat.

* * *

Cullen’s head snapped towards the horrible sound that reached his ears. One of the templars who were waiting with the recruits while the others inspected the place, left to investigate where the scream had come from.

Without having much choice, he waited for what was to come. The view of his village played on his mind, and he prayed that everything was fine back at home.

* * *

Alma covered her eyes with her bloody hands when her knees buckled over with despair and exhaustion.

She grabbed her mother’s corpse and buried her face on it. Pounding on her chest, she cried and called her name; she dragged herself to her father and shook his clothes trying to wake him up.

She sat on her heels and embraced herself closing her eyes trying to erase what she had just seen.

“It’s not real; it’s not real; it’s not real…” – She repeated to herself over and over.

The place was suddenly too hot, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that her parents’ bodies were on fire...like most parts of her house. She looked down at her hands, and small flames played on her fingertips.

* * *

Cullen observed his surroundings trying to help in anything that he could, and in a separated part of the village, somewhere where some houses remained intact; he noticed that one of them ha suddenly caught on fire. He called the templars over and explained what he saw, prompting one of them to go check it out.

* * *

The door suddenly flew open, and an old man stood there staring at Alma. His eyes darted from her face to her hands and finally to the corpses in front of her.

He entered the room, grabbed her and together they left the place. The image of Alma’s parents burning on the floor was forever engraved on her mind.

* * *

Cullen saw the templars coming back to the horses, and one of them had a little girl in his arms. He noticed she was so small but what shocked him the most was all the blood and soot covering her clothes and skin.

“We have a mage with us from now on.” – The old templar holding her said.

The other boys frowned and distanced themselves from her when she looked at them, but Cullen offered her his most sincere smile.

He saw her hide behind the man’s shoulder and peek at him with her big eyes.

* * *

Alma was frightened and lost. She buried her face on the old man’s chest and sobbed.

“Hey!” – She heard someone say. – “Here. It’s for you.”

She turned her head, and the golden-haired boy who had smiled at her had an apple in his hand.

“It’s okay. You can eat it. I have more.” – He offered the fruit again.

The old man cleaned the trail of tears from her dirty face with his thumbs and encouraged her to take it.

“Thank you!” – She whispered after taking the fruit and biting a big part of it.

“Don’t worry. If you want more, please let me know.” – He smiled at her again before taking his horse away.

* * *

The girl ate the fruit without taking her eyes from him, and Cullen soon saw her slowly falling asleep.

His sister’s words once again found their way to his mind.

“I promise you, Mia. I’ll be the best man I can.” – He whispered to himself with a smile.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading, and I apologize in advance for the mistakes. English is not my native language, but I try my best.


End file.
